Tristanian Slave Revolt
The Tristanian Slave Revolt was a war that took place between Tristania and the slave-led Alarean Freedom Coalition from 131 BT to 125 BT. The AFC fought for the abolition of slavery in Tristania. Background Unrest among Tristanian slaves was well established by the second century BT, but it was never taken especially seriously. However, a confluence of factors in the 130s set the stage for revolt. First, the Tristanian aristocracy was weaker then usual due to the fairly recent ascension of the Edgeworth family. More specifically, Oberbaron William VI had acceded in 137, and he was a weaker ruler than his father. The final straw was when William VI, in 132, passed a law that restricted the conditions under which slaves could be freed; this caused a group of slaves, led by the ethnically Robarial Bojan Borobosti, to plan a revolt. Borobosti's group, which he dubbed the Alarean Freedom Coalition, made its first move in Hortiflos 131 BT. Outbreak of rebellion The rebellion started in the southernmost part of Tristania (today southern Farelia), with a series of slave-led riots in the agricultural areas surrounding Petronalia. This quickly spread to urban slaves as well, and imports through Petronalia stalled, disrupting trade throughout the region. Throughout 131, word spread and various other coastal cities saw slave uprisings, increasingly crippling the Tristanian economy. However, this was partially mitigated by increased northerly trade with Hiesing and Valatsa. Tristanian countermeasures Crispus Varagain, the Marquess of Tuch, was one of the first major Tristanian nobles to strike back; in 130, he promised rewards to those slaves in and around Witria who served Tristania as informants or traitors. Although this helped to halt the revolt, as the slaves in the area began to descend into infighting, imports continued to be stalled. Varagain's strategy was adopted by other nobles, with varying degrees of success; however, this ultimately failed when Marquess Tristan Rannisor tried to use the tactic against the Petronalians. Borobosti retaliated by increasing the organization and scope of the AFC, and so slave leaders throughout Tristania began to more often and more powerfully coordinate their maneuvers. In early 129, when a group of Alandine merchants were raided by slave parties in the south, William VI was finally spurred to bring out the national army of Tristania rather than continue relying on local forces. Forces under Marcian Dir marched south to Paran and, in several days, rooted out the various AFC branches and— at least briefly— crushed the Parani component of the rebellion. Growing nervous, Borobosti began to order the AFC to advance on Paran, and so there came to become pitched battles between Tristanian and AFC forces. Having more experience and better equipment, the Tristanians largely won these battles, but Borobosti (despite increasing criticism) continued his campaign. AFC in Paran In the winter of 129, Borobosti decided to march out himself and to take a large Petronalian force to recapture Paran. Borobosti's maneuvers meant that, by the end of the year, an actual AFC-run government was set up in the palace of Paran; however, while he was away, the Petronalian component of the revolt was ill-organized, and so Tristanian loyalists under Rannisor recaptured Petronalia. This was a net positive for the AFC; Paran was more geographically central, and the AFC had a more organized government in Paran then in Petronalia, so the AFC began to improve their equipment and training during the ensuing period. William VI and the Tristanians began to lose increasingly many battles throughout 128, and so in the Paran region the AFC formed a significant foothold and power base. Tristanian blockade As Borobosti grew increasingly ambitious, William VI ordered his soldiers to mostly fall back and hold key cities. Crispus Varagain was assigned to keep a hold on Witria, Rannisor on Petronalia, and William VI would maintain Alandis; Marcian Dir was the commander of the sole remaining offense against the growing power of the AFC. With no severe weaknesses among the Tristanians, the AFC began to stall and lose ground throughout the year 127; Marcian Dir continued to harass the edges of the AFC's territory, and Rannisor and Varagain continued to crush AFC contingents in their respective cities. Borobosti, in desperation, began to send messengers farther north in Tristania, trying to stir up the slaves in northern cities and force the Tristanian leadership to dilute their forces; this was mostly unsuccessful, but it hit willing ears in the Heurenar Hugo Cremic, then a slave in Caniria. AFC retaliation Hugo Cremic oversaw the organization of northern slaves, mostly based in Caniria, into another branch of the AFC. Through a protracted battle, the Canirial slaves managed to capture the city in the early summer of 126; however, before an AFC government could be properly established, William VI began launching assaults on the area. These attacks had mixed results, and so Rannisor began to provide aid to the Tristanian army; Borobosti then acted quickly to retake Petronalia and to establish firm AFC control between the two cities. Cremic, meanwhile, was eventually forced to flee Caniria, but the damage was done— Petronalia was firmly under AFC control, and in Mifether 126 BT, Rannisor was captured and killed. Cremic, rather than join the established AFC forces, began to roam throughout the north of Tristania, spurring revolts wherever he went. Thus, Marcian Dir was eventually sent to stop Cremic's force instead of continuing to weaken the AFC heartland. This chase went poorly for Dir, who was rarely able to catch up to the unpredictable Cremic; ultimately, both would be killed in the Battle of Sartrim Field in the winter of 126. Peace In Granhumes 125, just under six years after the revolt's beginning, William VI sued for peace. Borobosti agreed to meet, on the stipulation that the location was somewhere within the AFC heartland; the small village of Agripin was chosen. In the ensuing months, the Treaty of Agripin was worked out. The only major concession made by the AFC was the return of all captured land to Tristania; the Tristanians, meanwhile, had to abolish slavery and to grant free passage to the AFC members, as well as agreeing not to level criminal charges against them. Category:Wars Category:Rebellions